One Very Heroic Love Story
by MissedTheLastTrainHome
Summary: Forbidden. Unforbidden. Love can cross any lines.


One Very Heroic Love Story

Summary: Forbidden. Unforbidden. Love can cross any lines. (Paire Songfic; Love Story, Taylor Swift)

_We were both young when I first saw you  
I closed my eyes and the flashback starts  
I'm standing there  
On a balcony in summer air._

1.

I surveyed the view surrounding me – mountains and rivers, streams and beautiful European forests. My bare feet burned against the scorching floor of the marble balcony, but I didn't care. I loved the scenery in Mount Alelia, and I felt at home gazing at the view.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice said from behind me. I turned around, only to see Peter, shooting me a lop-sided smile. He came and stood beside me, staring intensely at the clear blue sky.

"I've never been to Europe before now. I've never stayed on holiday in such a beautiful villa as this one, and I've never see such wonderful sights as the ones I have seen this past week. It's weird, because when I left my adoptive family, I kind of regretted it. The moment I stepped into Nathan's Porsche and drove away from my house; my life changed. But being here, on vacation, with you – I feel so right. It's like when I was with you in the jail cell, months ago – I felt...right." I replied, looking at my burning feet. My gaze ascended up my body – past the beautiful, white, thin, billowing , short dress that I wore; past my golden tresses of blonde hair, up to Peter's understanding face.

"Does right mean happy?" Peter asked, cupping my face. He gazed longingly into my eyes. I wanted to tell him no, right means in love. I wanted to kiss him there and then, tell him I loved him and live happily ever after, like a princess. I wanted him to kiss me back and whisper he loved me and needed me. Unfortunately, life doesn't go that way.

"Yeah...I guess it does," I answered taking one last look at the view and following him out of the balcony archway.

_See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns  
I see you make your way through the crowd  
And say hello  
Little did I know_

2.

I hated Nathan's parties. The music was rubbish, the food was rubbish and I always stood with nothing to do.

It was yet another boring fundraiser. Nathan had just made his tacky speech – burbling on about world peace and flashing his bright political smile. I sat at the back of the room, ordering cocktail after cocktail – it wasn't as if I could get drunk, as I'm immortal. Couples took to the floor and danced to the slow music. I secretly wished that I could be one of those couples, dancing with my love. Except, the only way I could ever be in a happy relationship would mean I would have to be with Peter.

As if by magic, I suddenly saw Peter slowly crossing the dance-floor, his gaze fixed on me. I found my heart going overdrive as he approached me.

"Having fun?" he asked, a small smile growing on his face. I snorted.

"Yeah, you know how much I just love being bored to death by old congressmen." I replied. He reached out a hand to me, his smile disappearing.

"Dance?" he asked. I dumped my cocktail on the bar bench, and slid my hand into his. His hand was firm, yet gentle. Smooth yet rough. Soft yet hard.

Peter led me across the dance floor and found an empty spot, where he stopped and pulled me close. I slipped my arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on my waist. We swayed slowly, as one, to a soft, beautiful piano solo. He looked into my eyes and whispered:

"I love you, Claire"

_That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles  
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"  
And I was crying on the staircase  
Begging you, please don't go  
And I said_

3.

2010. 20th November. The day that Nathan and Angela found out about Peter and me.

It had started off as an innocent day. Nathan had a meeting and Angela had gone to visit "a friend". As soon as Nathan left, Peter took me in his arms and started to make out with me. It was _amazing._

We had only been on for about two minutes when the front door opened. We heard a shatter of glass and broke apart to see Nathan in the doorway, jaw dropped.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"He screamed. I bit my lip, as did Peter. "WELL?"

For once, I didn't know what to say. Nathan had just caught his daughter and brother making out.

However, it seemed that Nathan had lots to say. He dragged us into his study and poured himself a stiff drink.

"WELL?!" Nathan repeated. Peter took a deep breath.

"Nathan, I'm not going to tell you lies. So here's the truth. Claire and I have been dating" Peter said confidently. Nathan choked on his scotch.

"What!? It's incest, immoral...it's WRONG!" he replied, thumping his glass down on the table.

"But we love-" I began, but was cut off by Nathan's shout of:

"Don't say it, Claire! How could you? My very own daughter is incest! And as for you," Nathan turned to Peter. "it's sick! Are you some kind of twisted pervert?!"

I was nearly crying now. How could Nathan not understand our love?

Then I heard Peter speak up.

"Don't even think about insinuating us, Nathan! We loved each other before we even found out we're related!"

Nathan laughed sharply ; a laugh that pitied both me and Peter. A tear spilled over the top of my eye and began to roll down my cheek. Nathan and Peter both saw that I was crying.

"I want you to get out." Nathan hissed at Peter. I looked up immediately.

"NO! You can't do this!" I screamed at Nathan, who leaned back in his chair smugly.

"I can Claire, and I am. Look at the state you're in; all because of Peter. You deserve better." He said, smirking. Peter looked at his shoes, ashamed. I suddenly became furious at Nathan and lashed out:

"I live for Peter! When I'm not with him, I feel like sticking some glass in the back of my head! Don't you realize what you're messing with, Nathan? Please, just leave us."

Nathan didn't even flinch at my tone. He simply replied:

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Claire. Peter, I do believe you were leaving?"

And with that, Nathan stood up, and motioned for Peter to follow. Like a robot, Peter followed him. I jumped out of my chair and ran after them.

"Nathan, please! Peter, tell him!" I cried. I grasped hold of Peter and managed to stop him from walking. He turned round to face and me, and I realized that his eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"Don't leave me, Peter! Please, don't go. Stay here. I need you; I love you." I said solemnly, so Nathan couldn't hear me. Peter touched my tear-stained face and whispered in my ear:

"We'll meet again, Claire Bennet. That's a promise. We will remain undivided"

And with that, he walked off, after Nathan, who thrust open the mansion door. Peter strode outside; one single tear running down his face.

Peter was gone. I immediately burst into hopeless tears, sobs wracking my body as my hands scrunched themselves in my hair. I couldn't breathe, and the only thing I could see was my world shattering into broken pieces.

_And I said,  
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.  
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,  
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes."_

_4._

After the tragic event of Peter leaving, my life turned into a somewhat misery. I didn't eat, drink, or sleep. I never really left my room, to be honest.

There was something, though, that made pleased me – the sighs that Nathan let out when Peter or I were mentioned in a conversation, or if I made a rare appearance downstairs, in the mansion. He _knew_ that I hated him, and his face was always contorted with regret, anger, stress, remorse – maybe even _shame. _

The only time I talked – or should I say yelled - to the wretched man was when we both lost control. Nathan and Angela had forced me out of my room to come and eat dinner with them, one December night. I sat angrily at the beautiful glass table, pushing my food around the plate. Angela sat at the top of the table, happily knocking back her glass of expensive Rosé wine. Nathan was situated directly opposite me, which completely irritated me. After ten minutes of silence – apart from the silverware clinking around our plates – Nathan spoke. Or rather, bellowed.

"I've had enough!" he yelled, standing up from his seat. My eyes immediately jumped to his puce face, which was glaring right down at me. I suddenly felt the urge to speak, so I did.

"What?" I asked heatedly, my jaw clenched. Nathan continued, unspoken thoughts and judgements finally bubbling over.

"You, Claire, you have gone too far! First, you fall _incestly_ head over heels in love with your _vile_ uncle, then you brood obsessively about me breaking you up - for months! You block both of us out, and sit there obnoxiously, while Angela is worried to death about your physical and mental state, and I'm drowned in the fact that you've committed sin and liked it!" he roared. Outraged at his sudden speech, I stood up and yelled right back at him.

"How dare you! How can you think those... disgusting thoughts! I'm in love with Peter, and I always have been, since the first time he saved me in Odessa. Peter is a hero, which is more than you'll ever be! I hate you," I screamed, before running up to my bedroom. As I was about to lie down on my bed and cry, I was filled with a burst of new-found confidence, and stopped myself. I reached for my cell, and instantly called Peter.

The confidence was short-lived. I felt myself tremble as Peter's sexy voice filled the answer machine message.

"Hey, it's Peter Petrelli. Leave a message, and I'll call you back."

I sighed, and mustered up my last remnants of courage to speak.

"Peter...it's Claire. I need to see you...alone. Please, Peter, help me. I hate it here, without you. I'll be waiting in my bedroom at midnight tonight, if you want to see me. We can run from them Peter, and live the rest of our lives like a love story, please...just, come tonight." I said, breaking into tears halfway through.

Now, all there was left to do was wait.

_So I sneak out to the garden to see you.  
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew.  
So close your eyes; escape this town for a little while._

5.

I was risking everything; meeting Peter in the back garden of the mansion was almost screaming at Nathan "Come and look!". That was if Peter turned up, of course, I thought to myself, as minutes slipped away from me.

I lay down on my bed, and listened to some sad piano music. Dressed in a black, silk dress, which came up to just above the knee, and red Dorothy slippers (instead of my usual black sweater and black jeans, I had got my hopes up that Peter _was _coming to "save" me. All the same, I was delighted when there was a soft knocking at my window.

My eyes lit up when I saw Peter hovering, in the air, next to the window ledge. I opened my window hurriedly, and was about to squeal a teary "Peter!", when he flew down to my eye level, and placed a finger on my lips, indicating for me to be quiet. He then slipped his hands onto my waist, and gently pulled me over the window ledge. I clutched at his shirt as we descended onto the grassy lawn of the back garden. His eyes travelled up my anorexic body, and rested on my pleading face, that was about to crumple any second.

"I'm so sorry, Claire" Peter whispered in my ear, pulling my face to him. We embraced in the moonlight, me crying on his shoulder; him comforting me lovingly.

"It's not your fault, Peter" I replied, in a hushed tone, removing my head from his shoulder and looking him in the eye. I felt like a mature adult with Peter, not the emo seventeen-year-old I was with the rest of the Petrellis. He traced the rim of my lips with his index finger, a crooked smile forming on his face.

"God, I love you, Claire. So, so much. I've missed you every second of every dull day I haven't seen you." Peter murmured, now fingering a lock of my golden hair in his hands.

I lifted his face up to meet mine, and gazed deep into his dark caramel pools.

"I love you too, Peter. Every day we were apart was like a losing war to me. We need each other, so that's why I'm saying it here and now: we will always find each other."

Together, in one motion, we kissed. Intensity sparked between us, and our hearts began to beat again.

But then we were ripped apart by a feared force.

_'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter,  
And my daddy said "Stay away from Juliet,"  
But you were everything to me; I was begging you, 'Please, don't go,'_

6.

I sincerely despised Nathan Petrelli. Especially when he flew towards Peter and me on that night and knocked us apart.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here!?" Nathan hissed at Peter, who was standing on the fresh grass opposite me. Peter didn't answer Nathan, which caused Nathan to punch – yes, _punch _– Peter, on the face. I reeled backwards, as I watched Peter heal his nose sadly. I couldn't stand by and let Peter be beaten by the notorious Nathan – so I jumped in front of my lover and faced up to the senator himself.

"He's here because of me. I asked him to come, Nathan. You want to know why I asked him to come, Nathan? Because I wanted him to save me from this awful house, your malicious mother, and last, but definitely not least, you."

Then Nathan slapped me.

His face was furious; almost demonic. Peter slid an arm around me, turned me to face him, placed a cooling hand on the slap mark, and healed it. However, it didn't stop the pain of being hit by my own father. I stared worriedly up at Nathan, who had grabbed Peter by the collar and was holding him so close that he would probably spit on him.

"Here's the deal, Peter: you leave, and never get in touch with Claire ever again. If you do, I'll kill you," Nathan hissed viciously, making both Peter and me gasp. How could Nathan ever threaten his brother with such an outcome? I was about to defend Peter again, but I heard a Pwooosh behind me, and immediately turned around.

Peter was gone.

As my jaw dropped, Nathan marched back into the mansion smugly.

_And I said,  
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.  
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,  
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes."_

7.

Spring 2011 came pretty quickly. Christmas felt like a chore, and New Year was simply another day. My mind was full of doubts and thoughts. At times, I had thought about killing Nathan. He was a horrible man- no, he was a villain. We never spoke to each other at all. Angela thought I was sick. She always whinged at me about being incest, and finding another man, and "What would your mother say?", hoping that when the time was right, I would come around and apologize. The question that annoyed me endlessly, though, was: What did I have to apologize for?! I fell in love with my uncle. Big deal!

As the weeks wore on, I found myself obsessing about Peter and me. Would we get married? Would we have kids? Who would throw me away at the wedding?

I wished so very hard that I could escape the mansion. But I could only wish. They had four 24-hour guards, who were trained to fire at a ten cents piece target. Plus, there was no one I could escape to. I had no idea where Peter was, and my half of my adoptive family didn't remember me.

When I say "half", I mean my Mom and Lyle. Basically, my Mom saw me regenerate sometime ago, and so did Lyle. My Dad got the Haitian to erase their memories – but in a freak accident, he erased all of their memories of me. Therefore, my Dad sent me to live with Nathan – forever.

Now I was alone, simply waiting for the day that Peter and I would fly out of this hole, and would land in a beautiful castle that was just ours to share. We would live the perfect life and boast the perfect love. An impossible dream.

_Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel  
This love is difficult, but it's real  
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess  
It's a love story baby just say yes_

8.

As time went by, I found myself in the middle of May. The nights began to get lighter, and I struggled almost every night to get to sleep. However, there was one night where I slept easily.

I lay on my bed that night, and made my daily confession/prayer to Peter.

"To my hero," I began, gazing up at the ceiling. "I hope you hold my love in your heart, and use it to come and save me. Yours truly, Claire"

The strange thing was, I wasn't ashamed to talk to Peter aloud. I knew he wasn't listening, but maybe I could pretend...

I then proceeded to fall asleep. The first time in months! And as I fell into the vivid world of dreams, Peter appeared to me, in a dreamed-up red room.

"P-Peter?" I asked, walking across fluffy carpet to touch him. My hand reached out and caressed his cheek. It was real: I was actually touching him!

"Dream walking. A power I picked up from India – now I can reach out to you, through your dream." Peter replied, instantly wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing me slowly. We kissed for what seemed like forever – but it was a very, very, very good forever.

We finally broke apart, and a frown spread across my face.

"Why aren't you coming to save me, Peter? Nathan freaking hates me with a passion, and Angela tries to tell me how to feel about love – twenty-four seven! And when I say that she "tries to tell me how to feel about love" – she tells me that I'm a disgrace and that I've sinned; but I can repent if I fall in love with somebody else. She says you're a stupid dreamer with your head in the clouds and that you would fall for anyone with blonde hair. I'm sick of it Peter! Why did you get to escape this torture?" I said angrily. Peter shakes his head.

"You think this is easy for me, Claire? This love...it's become so difficult. There's you; sitting in your room with depression, and there's me; watching helplessly on the sidelines, with nothing I can do. It hurts." Peter replied. It pained me to see him so helpless...so desperate.

"It may be difficult, but it's real. We can't sit in the background and hope for the best! We have to be strong and confident, and most definitely not afraid. We have to believe in ourselves so we can escape this mess and get away from it all! Are you with me, Peter?" I proclaimed.

Peter opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. Instead he began to fade away.

"Peter? Peter!" I yelled, watching him disappear. The room began to fade, I began to fade, and before I knew it –

I had woken up.

I leaped up from my bed, searching the room urgently with my eyes.

I ran out of my bedroom, and came face-to-face with none other than Nathan Petrelli himself. He must have just come out of his bed, because he looked fairly bedraggled.

My vengeance towards Nathan turned my blood cold, and I shot him an extremely fierce glare, before flouncing off into the bathroom.

I slammed the bathroom door shut, and sat down on the edge of the bath. Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I had to be strong – I had to stick by my words that I proclaimed to Peter. I was going to get out of this place, for once and for all.

_I got tired of waiting,  
Wondering if you were ever comin' around.  
My faith in you was fading  
When I met you on the outskirts of town_

9.

"Claire? Claire, where are you going?" Lavender, the Petrelli Mansion maid asked me, worriedly. She had a right to be worried – if you saw an eighteen-year-old girl (who cries herself to sleep at night) chucking clothes and all of her possessions in a suitcase hurriedly, for no apparent reason, wouldn't you?

"I'm leaving, Lavender." I replied, emptying my underwear drawers into the black, compact suitcase I owned. I grabbed all of the junk Nathan gave me for my birthday – when we were still on speaking terms – and binned it furiously, before slinging more clothes into my case.

"I don't understand, Claire, why are you leaving?" Lavender asked, confused at why my room was now half empty. I paused, and gazed at Lavender. I forgot about my mad rage, and sat down on my stripped bed sadly.

"I'm leaving because I'm in love with someone who hasn't been accepted by Nathan and Angela. Nevertheless, I love him more than them, so I'm going to find him. I'm tired of waiting, and my faith in him will weaken if I stay any longer. So I'm going. Wouldn't you do the same, Lavender?" I declared, before continuing my manic packing.

"I wouldn't do the same if I had a choice, Claire – and you do have a choice." The naive maid answered. I emptied my wardrobe, and dumped the final few things from my bookcase into the suitcase, then turned back to Lavender.

"Not this time" I replied, and zipped up my case. I observed Lavender – she had a waterfall of silky brown hair, pearly blue eyes, a figure to die for, an expensive, silk, cream top, and hip-hugging black jeans. She was kind, beautiful, rich and perfectly happy. Lavender was leading a great life, and she had so many choices. I had none.

As I dragged my suitcase out of the mansion, I felt the need to leave my mark. So I walked over to a stone gargoyle decorating the ground, and kicked it. It smashed to pieces.

I hailed a taxi to Peter's apartment, which was situated around the outside of New York. I managed to shift my case out of the car, and then looked up at the apartment block looming overhead of me. I hadn't seen Peter in three months – what was I supposed to say to him? Jump out and squeal "Ta Da!!"? Knock on his door and walk in like everything was fine?

I decided to sit on the roof of the apartment block, and mull over what I was going to say to him. As I stepped out of the elevator onto the roof floor, I realised there was somebody else on the roof too.

It was Peter.

_And I said  
Romeo save me, I've been feeling so alone  
I keep waiting for you but you never come  
Is this in my head, I don't know what to think  
He knelt to the ground and he pulled out a ring  
And said_

10.

We both stood on the roof, stunned. I was the first to move. Knocking over my suitcase in the process, I raced over to Peter and flung my arms around his neck.

As we embraced, Peter spoke.

"Claire," he said quietly "What are you doing here?"

I pressed myself closer to him, so I could feel his heartbeat.

"I was alone, Peter. I kept waiting for you, but you never came. So I escaped myself. I thought you were going to come, but maybe that was in my head. I just -"

I was silenced by Peter's soft lips converging with mine. I gasped as our kiss turned French.

He pulled slowly away after a while, and whispered in my ear:

"Believe it or not, Claire, I've been readying myself to come and save you. Noah and I formed a plan, and I was set to come tomorrow night. Seems like you got here quicker."

I gazed into his eyes.

"It's so confusing! I don't what is going to happen between us, I don't know if Nathan is going to send out an army to come and find me, I don't know what has been going on with you – I just don't know what to think" I replied sadly. Peter took a deep breath, and peeled my arms off him, so we were no longer in contact.

"Maybe I can straighten things out for you" he said softly, and with that, he knelt down on one knee, and pulled out a ring.

_Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone  
I love you and that's all I really know  
I talked to your dad, you'll pick out a white dress  
It's a love story, baby, just say yes_

11.

"Marry me, Claire" Peter proposed. I gasped. Literally, gasped.

"You'll never have to be alone again – ever. We can put the past behind us, and be together forever, for the rest of our lives.

"I love you so much Claire, and we've saved each other so many times. You make me happy; ecstatic, actually. I can't imagine life without you – the past year has been a living nightmare. I need you. I talked to Noah, and he has accepted it, and respects us. So, Claire Bennet, will you marry me?"

I walked up to him, and knelt down too. Unshed tears shone in both of our eyes. I took the ring from his fingers, and slipped it on. It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I looked deep into his eyes

"Yes"

_We were both young when I first saw you_

12.

Peter Petrelli, you're totally my hero.

_And they lived happily ever after._


End file.
